Ok, I'm trying to do a webcomic in the vein of "order of the stick" and I am making fair progress, but I've ran into a major snag and, as fate would have it, I can't reach the people I know beat it before me, so I have to ask here.

I need to control the size and rez of the images to keep the files to a reasonable size and still be readable.

Now the normal rez for the comic I'm trying to use as inspiration is apparently around 800x600 and 300dpi, and come in at around 120K or so final .gif image, with the text readable.

My files sizes are like 600K or so, and when enlarged to full size are many times the screen's size, requiring scrolling to read a single panel.

Any advice on getting my image and file size problems beat down to size while still being readable would be appreciated...

You can select the output resolution in the export dialog. Select the whole page option, then type in the size you want and it should calculate the dpi.

Go to document properties and make it 800x600.

If you want 300dpi, make a 800x600 document, but jack the dpi up to 300 when you export. That will automatically increase the actuall size though.
So you have to open the image in gimp and resize to 800x600 with 300 dpi.

If I don't resize, I get huge files that are may times the monitor's size and require scrolling all over to read. If I resize, my text goes blurry. How do I set up the initial rez so I know I can read the text in the final product?

Do what I said, and work with it. You don't set it to the final size until you use the gimp.

If your doing it for a web comic, why is the dpi even relevant? just output at 800x600.

Here's a little visual explanation

Sim, making an image 300dpi gives it +10 attack power.

Well, here's an example of what I'm doing and the problem I'm having:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/t ... /aa3-1.gif

I should be able to get these images down to 200K or so with a res of like 1280 X something at most, but whenever I try the legibility goes to hell.

I'm aiming for an OOTS sized filed, or maybe just a few dozen k bigger.

Now do people see the issue more clearly? I'm new at this and would like advice on sizing and such, plus font size and line thickness to be clear in lower res, if it's not a bother.

I guess I'll look for this 'gimp" thing, but sheesh, couldn't they have given it a better name?

I should be able to get these images down to 200K or so with a res of like 1280 X something at most, but whenever I try the legibility goes to hell.

Sometimes you have to accept the limitations for what they are. You have a large image with a lot of text--there's is a finite limit to how small you can make the file size and with so much text it's unavoidable that the text is going to be difficult to read when you shrink it.

I'm aiming for an OOTS sized filed, or maybe just a few dozen k bigger.

What's an OOTS?

Now do people see the issue more clearly? I'm new at this and would like advice on sizing and such, plus font size and line thickness to be clear in lower res, if it's not a bother.

The best tip is to work at the size you want the image from the very start. Set your canvas to 1280 pixels then draw your drawing and set your zoom to 100% to see if you fonts and details are big enough or not.

It's quite possible that the text rendering in Inkscape isn't good enough to work well at small sizes (though I've never really tested it), in which case it may be best to export to PNG without the text, and add the text using a bitmap editor. There's also the question of which font is used - if the font doesn't have good hinting, it's not going to work well on screen at small sizes however you use it.

microUgly wrote:What's an OOTS?

Presumably, OOTS = The Order of the Stick.

SureWhyNot wrote:Here's a little visual explanation

Sim, making an image 300dpi gives it +10 attack power.

I tried doing what you said.

It made the file BIGGER in memory terms, AND the text was unreadable.

I think your issue stems not from anything related to inkscape but from inexperience with laying out comics. It's a skill that good comic creators make look easy, and readers often take it for granted, but anyone who starts to do their own comic quickly learns how crucial and difficult this skill can be.

Here's what I suggest you do: In the document properties dialog set the size to the exact dimensions you want the final piece to be. (1280x1024 seems excessive to me. Take a look at questionable content or drmcninja to see how two very successful webcomics are laid out in much smaller images.) Now when you are laying out the text for your comic, choose view->1:1. If the text is legible at this view it will be so on output. When you're done, export bitmap at 90dpi. This should give you the exact dimensions you want. Good luck.

@SWN -- stop being a troll.

llogg wrote:@SWN -- stop being a troll.

Sorry, I didn't mean it like that.

He said that he did what I said and it produced a large image with unreadable text. So I made an image with a decent file size and readable text, using what I had said. (And conforming to his ideal final specs of 800x600 at 300dpi)

If you look at Dr. McNinja, keep in mind that the file sizes are smaller because they are in black and white. It seems like a lot of comic layouts are vertical (not landscape), you might want to try that out.

TEXT REDACTED

This post no longer applies, so I deleted its content. That is all.

llogg wrote:I think your issue stems not from anything related to inkscape but from inexperience with laying out comics. It's a skill that good comic creators make look easy, and readers often take it for granted, but anyone who starts to do their own comic quickly learns how crucial and difficult this skill can be.

Here's what I suggest you do: In the document properties dialog set the size to the exact dimensions you want the final piece to be. (1280x1024 seems excessive to me. Take a look at questionable content or drmcninja to see how two very successful webcomics are laid out in much smaller images.) Now when you are laying out the text for your comic, choose view->1:1. If the text is legible at this view it will be so on output. When you're done, export bitmap at 90dpi. This should give you the exact dimensions you want. Good luck.

@SWN -- stop being a troll.

OK, that "view 1:1" tip may help, thanks.

PS, I will NOT redo the text, I know that the guys doing other comix don;'t have to do that.

Did you compare the amount of text (and frames) in your comic to other comics that "don't have to [redo the text]"? Even a comic like Wayfarer's Moon has less text than yours, thus the text can be larger and more legible at the size/resolution required for a webcomic.